Psst ..

Having had a little time to absorb the conversation I had with the nurse practitioner the other day, I wanted to say thank you for your emotional support. Some conversations are tougher than others and here, it's a place that others understand a conversation like the one I had the other day at the nefruologist's office.

I'm not the best at letting others be strong for me. You all have a very keen insight about the challenges and ostomate faces and the journey itself. Thank you for that and for everything. When I first came to the community, I was looking for my soulmate. My Grandparents were soulmates, so I know they do exist. Now, I'm here to share my journey and to share in others' journey as well. Innate value is something all its own. The long-term value over time of relations, that's something that has always been important to me. Each day truly is a gift for everyone, life being so ambiguous. You all do very, very well with everything and it's inspiring to see and to be a part of. I'm reminded of the Jerry Maguire movie "Hey, I don't have all the answers. To be honest, in life, I've failed as much as I've succeeded. But I love my Wife and I love my life and I wish you, the kind of success that I've had."

The real , genuine, true thing, that we all search for. That special feeling of knowing that we have that sense of security in loving another and sharing our dreams and life together.

💖

Hello Free Spirit.
Thanks for yet another stimulating post.
I find your references to 'soulmates', 'sense of security', and 'loving others' particularly interesting as it reminds me of my research days when I studied the relationships between people and their pets. It's also another opportunity to resurrect a past poem and concept.

The rhyme below, from my book ‘B. Withers–Be Kind’ could be said to summarise much of my research into the companion animal bond.
This ‘Aims For Today’ list emerged from asking people what they thought their pets did for them.
I figured that it would be functional as a pretty good guide for any relationship, and so I made up an ‘AFT monitor’ tick-sheet for my clients to score me on, in my day-to-day work.
This proved to be very useful for me and them to work out how I was doing and how I might improve. Hopefully, it was also a teaching aid to enable them to appreciate these characteristics as ones they might adopt in their own relationships.
Basically, it is a way of imitating and emulating the perceived characteristics of a pet.
Interestingly, I find that following these guidelines seems to work particularly well with my wife – but then, why wouldn’t it?
Best wishes
Bill

AFT - MONITOR.

For some, it may seem rather daft
to name a monitor as ‘AFT’.
Yet it’s not as daft as it may seem
when placed in context with my theme.

For as an acronym it was
quite convenient because
it had been shortened to convey
a tick-box for ‘Aims For Today’.

And as the list below will show
almost all you need to know
about forming a good rapport
whilst monitoring with a score.

When following this list, I find
I stay considerate and kind
to everyone that I might meet
and I’ll not harm them or mistreat.

I find it’s a pragmatic guide,
which I can follow with great pride
because it shows what I should do
to make relationships with you.

AIMS FOR TODAY:

1. To BE – THERE
2. To be CONSISTENT
3. To be HONEST, GENUINE & SINCERE
4. To be NON-JUDGEMENTAL
5. To LISTEN: Empathetically
6. To keep things CONFIDENTIAL
7. To ENABLE & EMPOWER (DIY process)
8. To show POSITIVE REGARD (unconditional)
9. To show RESPECT for INDIVIDUALITY
FEELING & NEEDS
10. To FOCUS CARING (according to my principles)
(© Copyright SOLAR publishing)

B. Withers 2020

Thank you Bill for your informative post. Your book terrific and each of your poems are so wonderful! You're a scholar in your oen right my friend. Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing! 🙂